Rhys sighed. What type of timing is this? Then again he supposes it is better than Kazuya coming last night. Now that would have been awkward. He reluctantly pulled away from her.
"Lyn, head inside without me for a second."
Lyn followed his gaze and sighed deeply knowingly. "Drag him inside if you have to."
"Permission obtained." His sentence fell short when she tip toed and lightly kissed his lips.
Huh? Wait, what did she just do there? Before he could process what had happened, Lyn had pulled away.
"I'll see you later?"
"Y-yeah."
Lyn smiled. "We can practice then, I'm sure you'll spare some time for me after the meeting."
Before he could get a word out, Lyn was already heading towards the throne room. He stood there frozen for a few minutes before realising that Kazuya would get away if he stayed still.
Rhys increased his footsteps and immediately caught up to Kazuya. He grabbed his friend by the collar.
"Your wife told me I could drag you."
"She is your wife too."
Rhys sighed hearing Kazuya's words. "I thought it was weird that you weren't around. But you really were moping around."
"I-I saw you two on the boats, I was with Zepher."
"Tsk."
"Lyn seems really happy, I haven't seen her like that in a while."
Rhys sighed. "You know this entire situation is already strange." He trailed off catching people staring at them. "Can we go somewhere private?"
______________
The place Kazuya brought him to was in a living quarters in an isolated area of the main castle. It even had the perfect view of Lyn's old accommodation as a Princess.
"Do you stay here a lot?"
It was the opposite reaction from when he saw Lyn's room.
"I do."
This room looks more used then the Queen and King quarters. For a moment he paused. Could it be? Does Kazuya stay here instead of staying with Lyn? Not even he would be that stupid right?
"Why don't you sit down?" Kazuya pointed at the chairs.
"Yeah alright." Rhys did so and watched Kazuya sit on the window. He supposes that part of him hasn't changed.
"It's good I caught you, we haven't spoken properly in awhile."
Rhys could only sigh hearing those words. He ran his hands through his hair. "Look, Kazuya, I don't understand what you're trying to do. But I think you're going about this the wrong way."
"But am I? She is very happy now."
"It's true she is happy." Rhys admitted. "But she-"
Kazuya shakes his head. "This is the reason why I rushed off and left you alone in the village. I knew Lyn would eventually come to find me and that you'd meet."
'Damn.' Rhys cursed in his mind. He thought as much but to hear Kazuya confirm it annoys him. It's even more frustrating because there is nobody at fault here. They both met Lyn at different stages in their lives, both had memories with her and fell in love with her. It was the same with Lyn.
Master said something along the lines of 'nobody can be blamed for falling in love.' But where do they go from here?
"You know the reason why Lyn married me right? She wanted to reassure the people. It's not like she picked me because she loved me."
"I am aware."
"On our wedding night, I didn't touch her. I wanted to respect her wishes. For awhile we became close but only as friends, Lyn trusted me to have her back and it was the same for me. That relationship wasn't bad, I didn't hate it."
"But?"
"But, when an incident happened that linked our souls and our fates. I felt terribly guilty. Her soul mate, her other half isn't me. The reason why we are both suffering so much is because we are not each others halves."
Rhys eyes widened hearing those words. "W-wait, what are you trying to say?"
"This is what I found out when I was searching for the jades. No, during the jade war I found a stone tablet with this information. That tablet disappeared after I finished reading, but I remember it clearly."
"Wait, does this mean Lyn will get better if I-"
"If we get her jade and you two hold another wedding ceremony in the temple."
"A temple?"
"It has to be on sacred grounds. Five years ago you two went to that cave right? There is a temple under ground there. It connects with another temple located in the borders."
Rhys didn't know what to say. He was having a hard time processing this information.
"Kazuya, hold on. If what you are saying is true, then I should have a jade too shouldn't I?"
"Hmm." Kazuya looked troubled. "I thought that too when I saw the shrine. There is a location for Lyn's jade and her soul mates. I tried to slide mine into it and surprise, surprise." He extended his hand out showing broken fragments. "It broke."
"Ait, is that why your condition became worse? Idiot, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Even I have some pride left. I figured there was something wrong ever since my wedding ceremony with Lyn. But surely not. Queen Orthez had multiple husbands and nothing bad ever happened to them. However, it seems like Lyn is different."
That must be a sign that Lyn's idea of abolishing the multiple husbands rule is the way forward.
"I am not the one for her, there are so many signs." Kazuya trailed off and laughed weakly. "No matter what I do, fate will pull us apart eventually. During the war three years ago, you insisted to stay in the sidelines. But when Lyn got hurt, you rushed over."
"Well yeah isn't that the natural reaction?"
"It should be but I hesitated. Even though I swore to protect her. I swore that I'd be there for no matter what." Kazuya paused. "When we first met, I told her. 'I would give you everything, there is nothing in this world I wouldn't do to ensure your happiness. I'll cherish every part of you, because without you beside me I can't survive.'"
He blinked hearing those words. 2That's incredibly cheesy."
"Hahaha."
"But, that is the type of thing Lyn likes."
'So he said something like that to her before? No wonder she accepted him. No normal girl would pass the opportunity to date a guy who says such sweet stuff.'
No, Kazuya is a nice guy. It's only natural that Lyn fell for him.
*Unedited*